Protect Our Parks: Cosponsor the National Park Centennial Act

Dear Representative,

As you know, our national parks desperately need the added protection that would come with sufficient funding. From historic buildings, including one of the nation's last 19th-century hospitals on Ellis Island, to ancient artifacts and fossils in Petrified Forest National Park, to the rare wildlife and plants found throughout the system, our national parks are in need of help. I have just learned about legislation that would provide that help, and I urge you to become a cosponsor of this important bill.

National Parks need our help: [Your personal comments]

The National Park Centennial Act, recently introduced by a bipartisan group of representatives, led by Mark Souder (R-IN) and Brian Baird (D-WA), would provide essential resources to the Park Service that would enable it to fulfill its mission to protect our nation's natural and cultural resources. The bill, looking to the 100th anniversary of the National Park System in 2016, would create the National Park Centennial Fund, a dedicated funding source that would help get national parks the funds they need to eliminate the maintenance backlog and support critical natural and cultural resource protection needs. Most important, it would return the luster to our national parks by the centennial of the National Park System in 2016.

I urge you to tell Representatives Souder and Baird that you want to help them pass this legislation to protect our nations natural heritage and cultural legacy. Please cosponsor this bill and encourage your colleagues to do the same in order to protect our country's most cherished places.

Sincerely,

[Your name]